Zac slowly opens his eyes as his east-facing windows flood with early morning sunlight. Groaning, he sits up and runs his hand through his hair. Although he had gotten used to logging in and out of the Hack by now, he still awoke with a dull throb in his head, which would usually be fixed with a couple of aspirin chased down with a nice glass of milk.

Looking at the time as he stands and stretches, he nearly panics, seeing it was nearly time for his first class to arrive. However, remembering that he gave all of his students the week off, he relaxes with a sigh. As he walks into the adjoined bathroom, he turns his television on, deciding to listen to the news as he goes about his daily ritual. As he stepped out of the bathroom, his hair wet from his shower, a toothbrush in his mouth and a cup of water in his hand, the reporter was talking about Ai International. "Huh," Zac says around his toothbrush, "even they're having problems?" [i]Must be those things,[/i] he thinks, recalling the monsters he'd been facing in the Hack, as he rinses his mouth and spits back into his cup.

Once his morning habits were satisfied, he turns his television off. Dressed in a pair of baggy jeans, a white shirt, and a blue zip-up hoodie, he laces his boots and grabs his keys. Stepping outside, he looks at his ride: a black motorcycle. Climbing on, he turns the key in the ignition, making the engine roar to life. Once his helmet was in place, he revs his motorcycle and pulls away from the dojo, following the same path he took the night before in the Hack.